Portable food and beverage container or holder



March 3, 1959 L. D. DUNN 2,875,940

PORTABLE FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONTAINER OR HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 25, 1957 ml\ HHH\\\\\H\\\W\ WWUllkium11 mm. HHHWHW I 'I \J z 2 21 2 40 62 6 6g 7 Y O O I I YINVENTOR.

lyman/Dflan BY March 3, 1959 L, D, DUNN 2,875,940

PORTABLE FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONTAINER OR HOLDER Filed July 23, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. gman/Dlhznm United States Patent PORTABLE FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONTAINER OR HOLDER Lyman D. Dunn, Chicago, Ill. Application July 23, 1957, Serial N 0. 673,600 2 Claims. Cl. 229-30 This invention relates to a portable food and beverage container or holder and more particularly to a self fastened food and beverage container which :may be formed from a single blank of material and which has legs at one end only thereof so that the container may :be positioned on an inclined surface such as an automobile seat and maintain a level position.

. An object of this invention is to provide .a new and improved food and beverage container formed frorna single blank of material and having means at one end thereof to maintain the containerlevel' when placed on 'an inclined surface such as a vehicle seat.

Another object of this invention is to provide anew and improved self-fastened food and beverage container formed from a blank of cardboard or 'the like having spaces for holding food articles and beverage containers and havin'gi'legs lat one end thereof extending' downwardly from the container body andzof a length to compensate for the slope of an inclined surface on which .the .container rests so as to maintain the container level .and avoid spilling of the'beverage'from its containers.

The objects of the invention generally setforth, together with other ancillary advantages, are attained by the construction and arrangement shown by way :of :illustrationlin the accompanying drawing, in which: i

Fig. 'l is a side view in elevation of the food and beverage container supported on a vehicle seat;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the food and beverage container;

Fig. 3 is an end view in elevation of the food and beverage container looking toward the right hand end of the container as shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the container taken generally along the line 44 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. is a plan view of the blank from which the food and beverage container shown in Figs. 1 to 4 may be formed.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings, and will herein be described in detail, an illustrative embodiment of the invention, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring first to Fig. 5, the container is formed from a blank formed of cardboard or the like indicated generally at 1 having a bottom panel 2 to which a side panel 3 and a side panel 4 are scoringly connected by continuous cut-score lines 5, 5a, 5b and 6, 6a and 6b. The side panel 4 has a two section top panel 7 scoringly connected thereto by a continuous cut-score line 8 extending for the entire length of the blank. A seal fiap 9 extends alongside the top panel 7 and is scoringly connected thereto by continuous cut-score lines 10 and 11. The seal flap 9 is adhesively secured to the side panel 3 when the ice 2 blank is in flat condition prior to setting ,up .of :the container with the top panel 7 and side panel 3, each partially overlying the bottom panel 2.

The top panel 7 has means defining beverage container receiving openings 15 and 16 including separate flexible tabs 17 and 18, respectively, arranged annularly and connected to the top panel along discontinuous .cutscore lines 19 and 20.

A pair of fold-down flaps 21 and 22 are scoringly connected to the top panel 7. along the discontinuous cutscore lines 23 and 24, respectively, and are separated from the seal flap 9 and side panel 4 by internal-outlines .25, 26, .27 .and .28. The fold-down flaps are separatedfrom .each other by a out line 29 which is interrupted by connecting links 30 which may easily .be broken in assembling the .container. Each of the fold-downflapsZl .andl22 have a terminal fiap section Y31 and 32, respectively, connected to the associated .flap by discontinuous cutscore lines '33 and 34; A plurality of internal cut lines 35, 36, 37 and .38 separate the terminal flap sections 131 and 32 from the fold-down flaps .21 and Y22 and are shaped to form lock prongs .39, 4t 41 and -42 .on the fold-down flaps 21 and 22.

The top panel '7 has end flaps 50 and 'slscoringly con: nected thereto,

The bottom panel .2 is formed with .two pairs of spacedapart openings 52, 53, 54 and 55 positionedinwardly'from the ends of .the bottom panel for coaction with the lock prongs 3.9, 40, ii and 42 as more fully described hereinafter. p 4 I The side panels 3 and 4 each have anendiiap 5,6 and 57 scoringly connected thereto by discontinuous cut-score lines 58 and 59, respectively. A look slit .is formed in each of the end flaps 56 and '57 by the cutlines .60 and .61, respectively.

Each of the side vflaps 3 and 4 have a leg structure formed of a pair of panel sections.v One .leg has v.the panel sections 65 .and 66 scoringly connected to the side panel .3 by the continuous cut-score .lines .67 and .68. and the other leg has panel sections 69 anditl scoringly connected to the side panel 4 by continuous cut-score lines 71 and 72. The leg panel sections 66 and 70 are separated from the bottom panel 2 by internal cut lines 73 and 74, respectively. In order to permit forming of the leg structures with the leg panel sections normal to each other, the panel sections are scoringly connected along their length by discontinuous cut-score lines 75 and 76.

Although reference has been made to the various scoring connections either as being continuous score or discontinuous cut-score, any of these types of scoring may be substituted one for the other without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, as well as Fig. 5, the food and beverage container may be assembled in the following manner: the container body may be expanded so as to have the top panel 7 in spaced superimposed relation relative to the bottom panel 2 and the fold-down flaps 21 and 22 may then be folded along the score lines 23 and 24 to extend toward the bottom panel 2 with the lock prongs 39, 40, 41 and 42 inserted into openings 53, 55, 52 and 54, respectively, to hold the body in rigid condition. The terminal flap sections 31 and 32 rest flush upon the bottom panel 2. In this operation of folding down the flaps 21 and 22, the connections 30 are broken.

The end flaps 56 and 57 formed at one end of the side panels 3 and 4 are then folded along their score lines 58 and 59 to extend across an end of the container body and the end flap 51 at an end of the top panel 7 may then be folded downwardly and placed in lock slits 60 and 61 to assemble the end flaps together. The folding of end flaps 56 and 57 also results in placing the leg panel scoringly sections 65 and 66 at right angles to each other and also the leg panel sections 69 and 70.

The container is then assembled and ready for use and as shown in Fig. 1, the container may rest on a vehicle seat 80 and be maintained level. This is accomplished by having the supporting legs extend downwardly a sufiicient distance to engage the seat at a level beneath the other end of the container body which also engages the seat. This avoids spilling beverage from the beverage containers 81 and 82 resting on the bottom panel 2. As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the fold-down 'fiaps 21 and 22 define therebetween an area indicated generally at 83 in which food articles such as hamburgers may be placed and supported by the bottom panel 2.

I claim:

1. A self-fastenable food and beverage container, comprising, a blank having a container body forming portion, including a bottom panel, a pair of side panels scoringly connected to opposite sides of the bottom panel, a top panel scoringly connected at one side to one of said side panels, and a seal flap scoringly connected to said top panel at the other side thereof and adhesively secured to the other side panel whereby the panels may be opened to form a hollow body with the top and bottom panels in superimposed spaced relation, means defining beverage container holding openings in said top panel, means defining two spaced-apart pairs of openings in said bottom panel inwardly of the ends thereof, a pair of fold-down flaps scoringly connected to and transversely of the top panel and each having lock prongs formed at the end thereof whereby, with the top and bottom panel in said superimposed spaced relation, the last-mentioned flaps may be folded down and the lock prongs inserted in said openings to form a food article compartment in the container body and maintain said top and bottom panels in fixed relation, and a leg structure scoringly connected to each side panel at one end thereof, each leg structure including a pair of panel sections scoringly connected along the length of the leg to extend normal to each other when the container is set up, a first end flap scoringly connected to and transversely of the top panel, second and third end flaps scoringly connected to each side panel and legstructure adjacent said first end flap, and lock slits formed in said second and third end flaps whereby the first end flap may be turned down and inserted in said lock slits with the second and third end flaps extending across the end of the body to securely hold said leg structures in assembled position.

2. A self-fastenable food and beverage container, comprising, a blank having a container body forming portion, including a bottom panel, a pair of side panels connected to opposite sides of the bottom panel, a top panel scoringly connected to one of said side panels, and a seal flap scoringly connected to said top panel and adhesively secured to the other side panel whereby the panels may be opened to form a hollow body with the top and bottom panels in superimposed spaced relation, means defining openings in said bottom panel inwardly of the ends thereof, a pair of fold-down flaps connected to the top panel and each having lock prongs formed at the end thereof whereby, with the top and bottom panel in said superimposed spaced relation, the last-mentioned flaps may be folded down and the lock prongs inserted in said openings to form a food article compartment in the container body and maintain said top and bottom panels in fixed relation, and a leg structure connected to each side panel at one end thereof, each leg structure including a pair of panel sections scoringly connected along the length of the leg to extend normal to each other when the container is set up, a first end flap connected to the top panel, second and third end flaps scoringly connected to each side panel and leg structure adjacent said first end flap, and lock slits formed in said second and third end flaps whereby the first end flap may be turned down and inserted in said lock slits to securely hold said leg structures in assembled position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 24,233 Goldberg Oct. 30, 1956 2,455,706 Shaw Dec. 7, 1948 2,808,191 Cramer Oct. 1, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 535,797 Great Britain Apr. 22, 1941 1,093,203 France Nov. 17, 1954 

